Ashes to Ashes (Book 1 of 2) A ZOMBIE FICTION

The Coalition

I hovered over the stopped bucket truck, waiting to see if they move again using the 'Bird's Eye' camera to keep an eye on them. But they had been motionless for at least a minute now, but it felt like ten. I saw Drake exit and climb around on it to the engine, then I heard what sounded like a small jet. 

I looked towards one of the buildings to our right and saw a small projectile rocketing towards our fuel. I yanked the controls, but the tank stayed motionless for too long and was hit. The explosion wracked the Osprey, making me fear being ripped apart. I pushed the stick forward and dipped the aircraft down the street when the second explosion occurred.

The left tilt-rotor was hit and torn from the aircraft, sending the heavy beast into an unstoppable barrel-roll.

"BRA-" I didn't even have enough time to yell it when we crashed into the twenty fifth floor of a building surrounded by scaffolding's on all sides several stories down. The worst part, we hit upside down. I blacked out on impact.

"...ex! Wake up!" It wasn't too long after from when we'd hit that I was awoken by Drew.

"Hmm? Wha- what did we hit?"

"A fucking building! We're upside down and I can't un-belt myself! See if you can." He ordered.

When I tried to reach with my left arm a jolt of blinding pain shot through me and I discovered that it was broken in the crash, I fought through it painfully and reached with my right; my belt was stuck too.

I shook my head painfully, still with blurred vision from my arm; "Damn it! Can you reach my pack? I've got a knife on the left side."

I reached for a pack, whether it was his I hadn't known, and successfully got my hand on it; "Which way is left?" I asked, not having brain trauma, just being confused.

"Your right."

"Right." I grabbed the knife and cut my restraint, only to fall onto my head and left arm, "FUUUCK! MY ARM!"

I looked up towards him, and suddenly I was sent into overdrive as I realized our situation. I stood, handed him the knife, and fought through the haze of shock and pain to reach the back. I found my bag sitting next to Shaun's belted into one of the seats.

"Ow fuck. Alright. Where was Shaun?" 

Slowly I pointed towards the rear of the aircraft as I grabbed my revolver.

"Alex? I think-... I think he's dead..." I grabbed Drew's knife and cut Shaun from the ceiling... or floor? His body fell with a thud and I discovered that he still had his M4 around his chest. 

I shook my head as I felt for his pulse, then the remainder of all of my senses came to me. I could hear gun fire, a liquid spraying, explosions, sparks, and I could smell fuel. I struggled to get Shaun's rifle off of him, then grabbed his tactical vest with Drew's help. It held six loaded magazines, two frags, and a combat knife. 

I grabbed Shaun's shirt, then dragged him through a side door that had flung open in the crash and onto the cracked flooring. Drew emerged from the aircraft with all of our bags in hand.

"Fuck! I wont be able to shoot like this..." I said as I looked down onto the street.

The attackers had their full attention on the seemingly indestructible bucket truck. I watched as multiple explosions took place around it and the glass hadn't even cracked. I fought the pain in my arm to grip the rifle, then crouched in the newly made opening to take aim. I found my scope setting on the chest of one of our attackers. I pulled the trigger and watched him drop dead. 

This continued for about another minute until the attackers realized we were alive. The large tail that hung out of the building provided us cover from shooters across the street to the left of us, but not ahead of us. Soon their fire became directed at me as Drew sat next to me in cover, handing me magazines. 

I fired blindly over the mostly destroyed wall and emptied my second to last clip. Our cover was becoming thinner and thinner with every shot from our enemies, but soon the others began to fire back from the door of the bucket truck that was constantly opening and closing. I couldn't help but smell the strong stench of fuel burning.

Behind us, the Osprey's engines had begun to spit and spew oils and gases like an unhappy child, this combined with the sparks from electric cables that hung from the ceiling ignited the liquids.

I watched, helplessly as they quickly over took the aircraft and the cargo on board. I fired two more shots when I heard a loud pop, then a deafening BOOM shook the building and blew both Drew and I out of it.

My short lived life flashed before my life as we were blown through the concrete, but our landings came short of the streets below. I landed painfully on the top of the scaffolding structure, Drew and our gear landing next to me. Followed by chunks of large and heavy concrete shattering the wooden boards and forcing us down through the rest of the structure. I once again blacked out, this time from blinding pain in multiple parts of my body. 

I awoke to the voices of the others, including Drew.

"I know he's here somewhere! I fell with him!" Drew shouted. 

I could hear a female's cries, which made me assume that Crystal knew of Shaun's death. I pushed with my right hand and managed to get it through the heavy rubble. 

"Guys! He's over here!" I heard Russ shout, followed by frantic pulling and crumbling of concrete.

Drake was the one who finally brought me light... or darkness. It had been at least four hours since the fall, seeing as it wasn't too long after three that we crashed.

"He's covered in blood." Drake told them as he began to practically throw the rubble off of me.

I began to pass out again until Drew dumped a bottle of water onto my face, "Stay with me!"

"Who's got the most medical training?" Russ questioned as he applied pressure to a leg wound inflicted by a piece of rebar that they had pulled out.

I winced and groaned, those two actions being the only two things I was strong enough to do.

"I- I think Crystal does? She was training to be a vet." Kat replied.

"I mean with people!"

"Well, our class- it taught us some basic and advanced EMT techniques that are used to stabilize patients..." Crystal informed him shyly.

"Well then get up here!"

I closed my eyes and the pain began to dull, but there was no light, just darkness. 

I was jolted to life in a new location. Still on the street, but in front of the bucket truck. Drake was holding jumper cables that had been attached to the truck's battery and they used them as defibrillators. It worked.  The pain returned, worse now than ever before.

I let out a scream of pain that made some of the others cover their ears. Russ had pushed down on my gushing leg wound, and I could see the grim in all of their eyes as I looked around, my eyes seeming to be the only things allowed to move. Even Sadie, whom I'd only known for a few days, looked like she was praying for my recovery.

"Bring me the gauze!" I heard Crystal order.

Then I blacked out, but hadn't needed to be jolted back from the dead. Only my ears seemed to work now, and all I heard was a whining rumble from the truck's engine as we moved down some street somewhere.